Chapter 5: 5.- Santa Gloria’s Shelter

 

To her surprise, when she arrived she didn't find a group of red guys shooting at her, but rather a few bare buildings, distant car alarms and a couple of dogs feeding on... dead people?

Erica walked past the corpses without any major qualms. To her surprise, there were few, far fewer than she expected. More than anything else, the streets were razed and a pile of debris was everywhere. You could tell it was a war zone.

She wandered around the city for a few hours, until, around the corner of a building yet to collapse, she heard gunshots and accelerated footsteps. Soon she saw laser beams flying in front of her, a few meters away. A moment later, two men and a woman appeared running from the right.

The girl opened her mouth to say hi, but at that moment one of the beams pierced the woman's head, who fell to the ground dead on the spot. The men stared at the corpse for an instant, but no more than that. They were being hunted, their lives were at stake, they could not afford to mourn for the dead.

Erica felt a little sorry for the woman. If only she had arrived a little earlier, perhaps she would have been saved. Even so, she could still save the men, so she hurried to the crossroads and waited close to the wall, at the edge of the corner. After a few seconds the pursuer of the people appeared; he was a big guy, at least a head taller than Erica, and she was tall. His skin was red, like the most succulent strawberries. His muscles were bulging and well—shaped, his hard head gave room for two small horns on the sides, and his eyes were bright yellow like gold under the sun.

As soon as she saw him, Erica struck the rifle from which he fired the bolts, sending it flying. The red guy paused for a moment, startled. The girl then gave him a punch to the stomach, which made him lean forward from the pain, and thus duck his head. With that, she kicked him full force in the jaw. The red alien rose several meters in the air and fell on his neck. He did not die, but it would take him a couple of hours to wake up.

The men who had been fleeing approached her, unable to believe what they had witnessed. They looked at Erica as if she were a freak, and then at the red guy, as if he was going to get up at any moment.

—You saved us— one of them said.

—You saved us— Erica thought to repeat, in a silly voice to emphasize the obviousness of that phrase, but since those men were probably in shock, she replied with a slight nod.

The other noticed the laser rifle a few feet away from the red guy and bent down to pick it up.

—Hey, look!— he said, catching his partner's attention, excited about his new toy.

—Excellent!— he exclaimed.

But Erica closed the distance to the guy with the rifle, took it from him in the blink of an eye and broke it with her bare hands, as easy as if it were made of chocolate.

—What are you doing!— exclaimed the guy.

—What are you doing here?— she stressed, indicating how little she cared to explain herself to them.

—We were looking for food— answered the other guy, glancing nervously at his partner.

—You're going to kill us?— asked the guy who had the gun.

—No, not for now. I came to fight with these red guys. Now, explain the situation... and if you have food, will you share it with me?

Both men looked at each other, not knowing whether to relax or flee.

—Will you protect us from the red guys, the nonis, if we feed you?— asked one of the men.

—Yeah, sure.

That was enough for the men to explain to Erica that they lived in a shelter, like many others, hidden from the "nonis", the big red guys. Every day they went out to look for food and supplies, but the expeditions were dangerous and every day there were fewer humans. They also indicated that the nonis controlled the access routes to the city, and that is why they had not been able to leave.

Erica had had no trouble getting in, but she soon remembered that she had stayed off the roads in case the police were still looking for her.

—How did you get trapped here?— one of them asked her —With all that strength, you have a chance of getting away.

—Oh, no. I just got here— she said.

The men's jaws dropped in surprise. Erica then explained that she was looking for her father, that fighting with the nonis was just a distraction for the moment. The men, of course, had no idea of her father's whereabouts, but gladly agreed to take her to the shelter.

 

After a few hours of walking through rubble and nearly empty streets, and defeating the occasional platoon of nonis, the three finally arrived at the shelter. It was a mini-market in the middle of larger buildings, which had been remodeled and disguised. From the outside it looked like another abandoned building, but as they got close enough, they could hear murmuring and see a few lights on.

You are reading story Beware the Chains at novel35.com

Upon entering, Erica found a large house half full of people. Most were seated, some were talking to others, but the general atmosphere was one of silence. It was the weight of weariness and despair over time, she had seen it before, but never as intense as that.

In contrast to the pessimism of the atmosphere, a smell flooded the interior of the mini market to the last corner; the smell of pumpkin and meat. She felt her stomach twist in pain, and a strong impulse to throw herself over the huge pot she noticed to her right as soon as she set foot inside, but she restrained herself when she noticed the line of defeated people in front of the pot. People were wounded inside and out, an unpleasant sight.

To her surprise, the men led her to the large pot, but not to take a plate. Serving food was a lady. She was tall, with weathered, square features, but a serene gaze and gentle gestures that soothed those who had had enough violence for the rest of their lives.

The woman embraced the men with joy, then lowered her head in sorrow at the news of the death of the woman who had been with them. Then she turned her attention to Erica.

—She saved us— said one of the men— she's super strong.

—It's true— added the other one —she has no problem dealing with nonis.

The lady was surprised by this.

—And what's your name, my girl— she asked in a loud and husky voice, but with a soft tone.

Erica didn't like being called "my girl", but chose not to say anything about it.

—Erica Sanz— she said with a good—natured tone and making sure to modulate each syllable well, as she liked to say her name— And you?

—My name is Mama Bear— she answered — I'm kind of the leader of this place.

They both looked at each other, not quite knowing what to think. Mama Bear seemed like the kind of woman who was fond of everyone, but Erica was skeptical of that attitude. By default, she distanced herself from older women with strong personalities. She distanced herself from many types of people, such as small children or middle aged guys, but older ladies with strong personalities in particular.

Mama Bear was interested in Erica's abilities, but they didn't talk much. First she gave her a plate of food. Erica found a place to eat. After she finished her turn serving, Mama Bear turned to her for conversation.

—You don't look like the rest— Mama Bear commented.

Erica looked up, not having expected to be spoken to. She wanted to ask what she meant, but feigning ignorance would have looked foolish of her.

—I arrived in this town today— she explained, although she supposed that the men who had led her there would have told her everything by now.

The lady sat down next to her, with some difficulty. Perhaps a sore hip, perhaps an old injury.

—Thank you for helping my friends. You can stay here as long as you like.

Erica gave a faint, grateful smile. She had expected a hostile attitude, but Mama Bear offered kind words. Perhaps they would get along.

They talked, at length. Erica told her about her missing father, the things she liked and disliked. Mama Bear told her about the stressful days she had lived in that shelter, not to unburden herself, but because there was nothing but bad news to tell. She told Erica about the nonis, who were very organized and had weapons far superior to anything any human soldier had ever seen before. She also told her about the people under her care, about the anxieties that gnawed at her when a group of young men left in the morning to forage for food and the grief that struck her when a smaller group returned.

—I'll help you— Erica decided, finally.

—You'll help us do what?— asked Mama Bear hopeful.

—To protect you, of course. I'll take care of the nonis when they come out.

—Really?— exclaimed Mama Bear, excitedly.

—Yes.

She didn't really care about anyone there, but it didn't hurt to be a good girl once in a while. Besides, the nonis had shown up just after her father had left. It may have been a coincidence, but over the years, Erica had realized that it was better to give a problem three turns if it could be related to her dad.

So she settled there, along with the other refugees. Food was scarce, privacy almost nonexistent, and fear could be smelled in the air, but Erica didn't plan to stay for long, so it didn't bother her that much.

You can find story with these keywords: Beware the Chains, Read Beware the Chains, Beware the Chains novel, Beware the Chains book, Beware the Chains story, Beware the Chains full, Beware the Chains Latest Chapter